Are all Signal Services scams?

Don't worry... I have already been trading for quite some time, with pretty good results...

What are they then if they're not scams? Legit businesses asking for money in exchange for random data, without giving any gurantees? I'm afraid most people looking for such services expect a bit more from these "signal providers" than from fortune tellers.

If there were any successful signal providers, with good, real performance, they would be FAMOUS! Anyone would know of them! Even the banks or other financial institutions would ask for their advice, or even buy their "secrets" for many millions!

I'd rather say that money management is one of the TWO most import things for long term success. The other thing being your ability trade profitably(i.e. to have more or larger winning trades than losing ones)
Otherwise, it's like saying that the most important element of a car is the braking system. While you'd be in great danger without brakes, I'm afraid you wouldn't go anywhere without an engine.

Of course, using too much margin/leverage - actually entering too large a position with respect to your equity, can be fatal. Also, not using stops could have the same unfortunate outcome.

You are probably assuming that I'm using a lot of leverage, just because I told you that you could make "millions in no time". Well, you are WRONG and your reasoning is bad!

But, having a system with a 90% rate of success, you could afford pretty big leverage! Mathematically, it would be difficult to lose - of course, assuming that you use stops, so you wouldn't be wiped out by one single bad trade.

Right... but still, I wouldn't offer any services to anyone...

For a few reasons:
1. It is generally agreed, that a (trading) system works as long as it isn't used by too many people. Sharing it with many people would just make it less efficient over time, and eventually obsolete. Even if you limit the number of subscribers, some of them would resell your "signals" for fast bucks...
2. If I were to really make some money, other than trading, I'd try to sell the system or to offer "signals" to some financial institution(s) for HUGE BUCKS...
It wouldn't make any sense to waste your time with small retail traders...
3. Now, the last reason, but not the least: Personally, I wouldn't feel very comfortable knowing that others would make serios money(perhaps even more than I could make if they have bigger accounts) just paying me a fee... developing a profitable system and/or good trading skills requires a lot of work, a lot of money (lost) and so on... so all these people would "take advantage" of your personal hard work and your great achievements for just a couple of dollars.. Simply, it wouldn't be fair!

1st point : i do not agree, retail forex trading counts for 2% of the total of the money in forex so maybe if every retail trader was using the same trading strategy then there would be an impact.

2nd point : i agree totally, if you find an instutionnal trading company intersted in short term then there is definitely big bucks here

3nd point : they probably wont make as much money as you do because of poor MM probably. Relying on signal service does not gives you the control you gain on real trading.